BERLIN- Worcester Prep’s boys’ varsity basketball team held off Holly Grove for a 44-39 win in the Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference (ESIAC) semifinals before a big bipartisan crowd at home on Monday to advance to the conference championship.
Worcester got out to an early lead, but Holly Grove battled back. Neither team got much of an advantage on the scoreboard throughout the game, but in the end, it was the Mallards closing out Holly Grove, 44-39, to advance to the conference championship. Elio Telo led Worcester with 16 points.
With the win, the Mallards advanced to the ESIAC championship game against Delmarva Christian last night in a game played too late to be included in this edition. Delmarva Christian edged Salisbury Christian in its semifinal, 46-45.
Reaching the conference title game was quite an achievement for the up and down Mallards, whose record stood at 9-8 heading into the final. Worcester played well through much of the season, but never really put any streaks together one way or the other. The Mallards never won more than two games in a row, nor did they ever lose two straight.